Homosexuality has historically been stigmatized globally. Policies and laws created to inhibit the sexual expression of gay and queer people are not a new occurrence. Although in the sixties and namely the seventies the rise of rock and roll and sexual expression in many ways liberated sexuality, as individuals were more accepted in showcasing queerness and gender nonconformity(Prince, KISS), The eighties became a much more regressive and oppressive era for gay rights. The emergence of AIDS in the gay community revivified these stigmas and transgressions toward the gay community, and many overlooked and avoided discussing a disease that was ravaging and destroying a while community. This rallied the gay community towards equality rights and spearheaded research into the virus, which would then become known as AIDS. Concerning the gay community today, there has been in the past decade significant strides in providing the gay community with equal rights, one being that gay marriage, a law which passed in the summer of 2015. The recent election of Trump and his administrations has curtailed the progress of the movement, as recent policy has restricted the gay community in arenas such as adoption.